BONNIE MAYGARDEN
Memory Held, 2019
acrylic on canvas
40h x 48w in
The Mason Lane Team: We're all skilled at looking at art through our client's eyes, but clearly we have our own tastes and preferences too. As a team of 6, our internal styles don't always align, but they feed a greater discussion about artists to consider, why certain pieces can be unexpectedly compelling, and how to keep an open mind. With that, we're giving you a window into each of our styles.
For our first installment, we have Katharine (me), Maddie, and Lisse. The first three members of Mason Lane who discovered during this exercise that we all shy away from a certain kind of art. WHO KNEW!?
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MADDIE
How would you describe your design and art style?
Like most people, I can appreciate all design styles and find I tend to take "snapshots" of different styles and incorporate them into my home and personal spaces. It creates an eclectic look... I call it beautiful, others call it confusing. Speaking more broadly, I really enjoy working in homes with more traditional elements and design. I grew up in a very traditional home and have a soft spot for dark wood, crown molding, and antiques.
My most favorite look is when the design and art styles sharply contrast one another. I love sourcing modern and contemporary art for a traditional home, and vice versa. I think juxtaposing these two styles creates an incredible energy and it brings out the best in both the design and the art. Contrasting the art and design styles brings life and a new sense of personality to the space.
Spaces that have the same design and art style feel underwhelming to me. You can feel a bit stagnant in the space because it's all giving off the same energy. Sometimes, that's wonderful! But most times, I want more dynamism in a space. Having contrasting art and design styles can achieve that. As humans, we are multi-faceted, unique, and all a little bit weird and I think our homes and spaces should reflect that.
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Can you share 3 artists you've discovered and liked this past month?
Matthew Cronin - Matt is a Brooklyn-based photographer who takes old photographs of machinery and stitches them together to create a "new" machine. These works are incredibly cool and feel polished and luxe. They're a very fun twist for traditional space.
Ronni Nicole - Ronni is an artist and gardener who uses her flowers to create beautiful wall sculptures using plaster and the flowers from her garden. I am a particular fan of her darker pieces. I love the smooth texture of the plaster with the texture of the flowers and plants she presses into the plaster surface. These pieces have a quiet sense of them while simultaneously drawing you in.
Bonnie Maygarden - Bonnie has been on Katharine's radar for a while, but I recently came across her work. Bonnie is a master at painting crinkled paper. When I came across her work, I thought she had starched and crushed the canvas and then re-stretched it. That is how realistic it looks. She has incredible skill and her pieces are mesmerizing to look at. I can spend hours trying to convince my eyes that they are looking at something flat.
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